Archive for July, 2008

A bit more than a week ago I learned how to generate debdiffs. I wish I knew how to do it earlier, since it’s incredibly easy, and very empowering.

Previously, when working on bugs on Launchpad, all I could really do is make comments on what causes the bug, and make suggestions on how to fix it. Now, I can actually fix it myself, and attach the debdiff that can be applied to the current package that will fix it. It’s awesome, all you really need to do is download a source package, make the required changes, bump up the version number, create a new source package and then create the debdiff between the original and modified source packages. And all it takes to create the debdiff is just one simple command.

I’ve learned parts of the above previously from the Ubuntu-MOTU classes, but what made it much easier for me is the MOTU Videos, which you can get on YouTube, or if you want to view it off-line (like I did), you can download it via http.

I won’t achieve my goal of becoming a MOTU by the end of this month, as I said I wanted to nearly three months ago, but I’ve learned a lot the last month or so, and I’m glad that I’ve actually made some progress. I’ll just have to work a bit harder and maintain/gain momentum. The MOTU’s have been great with helping out and giving advice. A big thank you to all of you, especially the friendly people of #ubuntu-motu.

Now consider this. South Africa had sanctions imposed (and rightly so) because a legally elected government was oppressing part of its population. Zimbabwe doesn’t have sanctions imposed because an illegal government is oppressing all of its population?

This whole thing makes me sick and is a reminder of why I should stay as far from politics as I possibly can.

I tentatively think that not apposing sanctions against Zimbabwe was the right thing to do. Saying it tentatively may appear a bit cowardly, but I can’t really say that I have enough insight into the situation to make a clear decision, for example, I can’t really find information on exactly which kind of sanctions have been proposed. What leads me to this view is, in South Africa, in the Apartheid era, it was a minority that oppressed a very large group of people. Even though the government at the time was legally voted, according to our laws at the time, it doesn’t meant that it was moral. I don’t think the issue of whether the government was legally elected or not is really the issue here. I think the issue here is that the people in Zimbabwe have no real freedom, they are suffering under a cruel dictatorship.

I think the real issue here is who it would hurt if sanctions would be ruled against the country. First of all, who would it hurt most if sanctions would be placed? I think it will put the people of Zimbabwe in a horrible situation. They may lose access to medical equipment and services, food, educational content and more. I doubt that the Zimbabwean government cares much if their people will be deprived of day-to-day necessaties (judging by their activities in recent years), so sanctions would just be a terrible idea in my opinion. In the South African context, the sanctions mostly hurt the elite and rich oppressors. It sent a strong international message, I agree that it was indeed necessary at the time. I don’t think it’s the wisest thing for Zimbabwe right now though. I respect the opinions of people who feel otherwise, but if it was my vote, I would also vote against the sanctions.